Red Hoods and Aliens
by DarkLordFluffy
Summary: Robin finds himself in a post-apocalyptic Gotham that has been invaded by aliens and run by dangerous gangs. The Red Hood gang end up taking him in while he's there. Red Hood helps him out with finding a way home. Will the boy wonder find his way home? Will his version of Gotham be at risk from those dastardly aliens? Find out here!
1. Chapter 1

It was a pretty normal night for Robin. He was swinging through the air from rooftop to rooftop watching out for any crimes that he might be able to stop. Batman was currently fighting the Joker and wanted him to set off on his own to protect the rest of Gotham while he was busy. Dick Grayson, Robin, was overjoyed to be able to go off on his own. He wasn't a child anymore after all.

He swooped down to stop a mugging. He tied up the muggers and checked to see if the girl that was mugged was alright. Then he shot his grappling hook in the air and launched back in to the rooftops.

Things were going rather normal for awhile till he came across an alleyway that was...glowing. Certain that one of Gotham's more colorful villains was up to something he repelled into the alleyway and went to take a look.

He didn't know what he was looking at. He stared at the anomaly for awhile trying to make sense of it. It looked as if it were a tear in the fabric of reality. There was the same alleyway on the other side of the anomaly but it looked dingier and more run down than it already was. It was like a portal. Robin stepped closer to the portal and instantly got sucked in.

He came to on the ground in the alley. But when he got up he saw that the alley was a lot more dingy and broken then it had been. And it was quiet. Too quiet for the middle of town. There were no sounds of cars going by. No honking horns. No sounds of people. Now and then there was the sounds of some explosions in the distance but other than that it was quiet.

Robin turned around to go back through the portal but the portal was gone! He got really scared. If only Batman were here he thought. He wandered out of the alleyway onto a street. Everything looked half destroyed. Nothing looked familiar to him.

Suddenly some huge insect-like creatures appear in front of Robin! He dodged out of the way when one shot a acid-like substance at him.

He ran away, not knowing how to deal with these things.

As he was running, he nearly got run over by a car that came barreling forward towards the monsters. Several rather rusty armored cars shot towards the creatures. The cars were full of people shooting guns at the insect-like monsters. One of the peopl, in an interesting looking red gas mask covering his whole face was lobbing explosives at the creatures.

"Get out of the way if you don't want to be in pieces kiddo!" The red masked man yelled at Robin.

Robin ran out of the way as one of the creatures swallowed an explosive. The explosive went off and showered the area in chunks of insect flesh. The other creatures were taken down by gunfire.

When they were finished taking care of the creatures they got out of the cars and raided a nearby abandoned pharmacy.

"Woo! Did you see that? It fucking swallowed it! That was classic!" The red masked man said as he walked up to Robin.

"Who are you? What happened to Gotham?" Robin said as he backed into a wall.

"The better question is who you are? And how you survived this long wearing something that stands out so much? If you have a death wish you certainly dressed well for it."

Robin glared at the man. "My name is Robin. I'm a crimefighter."

The man laughed. "That's a good one! Not really that much crime to fight nowadays though is there? Not since the city went to shit. Anyway, people call me Red Hood. Nice to meetcha, birdie."

"What happened here? Why is everything so destroyed?" Robin said.

"Where you been kid? Under a rock? The aliens happened. When the aliens attacked everything went to shit. A few of us managed to survive though. And now that's all we do. Survive. The aliens mostly leave us alone now. They were here for our resources not us. It's the rival gangs and the bugs you got to watch out for now. How come you don't know all this kid?"

"I'm not from here. I saw a portal or something and went through it and arrived here. I think I'm from a different version of Gotham." Robin said thoughtfully.

"A portal? Damn...that's how the aliens got to us the first time. If you had a portal in your world...well sorry to say this kid but your world is screwed." said Red Hood.

"Oh no! I've got to warn them! I've got to tell Batman!" Robin said. "Can you help me get back? Please!"

"Who's Batman? Sounds like a weird name to me." Red Hood said. Then he saw how desperate the kid seemed. "Ok ok. I'm not sure how we'll get you back but I have a few connections I can try. Come back to our hideout with us in the meantime and we'll get you some less conspicuous clothes."

Red Hood led Robin to his car. Robin reluctantly followed. Red Hood's lackeys all seemed like thugs to him and it made him nervous. Plus he had the suspicion that these people were this world's version of the Red Hood mob. He wasn't used to trusting criminals. But here there was no law. So there were no real criminals. And he had no one else to trust.

The rest of Red Hood's gang returned with their bags full of medicine. They got back in their cars and follow Red Hood's car back to their hideout.

Red Hood hummed a merry tune as he drove. Robin wondered if the man was entirely sane as he sat in the passenger seat nervously.

After awhile they stopped. They all pulled their vehicles into a hidden underground parking garage. Red Hood then led them to a subway tunnel entrance. They headed down and got to a guard post. Red Hood waved at the guards and they let them through. In the subway station there were people. Normal, yet shabby, looking people. Children played around. Red Hoods lackeys gave the medicine they brought to a tall thin young man that looked barely out of his teens. Then they went off into another room to relax a bit.

A young teenage girl in pigtails came running up to Red Hood and hugged him. "Jack! You're home! I was so worried!"

Red Hood looked a little uncomfortable. "Yep. I'm alive. Why wouldn't I be? Now go do something useful Harley."

"Aw Jack. Why do you have to be so mean?" She ran off through a door labeled greenhouse.

"I swear that girl is going to get on my last nerve." Red Hood took off his mask. "Anyway welcome to my home. Mi Casa es su Casa. Let's get you into some different clothes little bird."

Robin stared at the man that called himself Red Hood as he led i=him into one of the other rooms. He looked rather normal without the mask. His face was long and thin and young looking but looked pretty normal. The man seemed to sport a permanent little smirk on his face.

They get to a room full of beds. Red Hood went over and grabbed some clothes from a drawer in the corner.

"Here you go. They should probably fit you. I suppose you can keep the mask on if you want. Black doesn't pop like the other colors on your costume." He handed Robin some clothes. Then he walked out of the room.

Robin got changed but rolled up his costume and held onto it. He looked pretty drab now. The clothes were mostly grey. He walked out the door and back into the big common area. He searched around for Red Hood but couldn't find him. A sly looking teenage girl popped out of a ventilation vent in front of him as he was searching for Red Hood.

"Oh hi. New guy right? I haven't seen you before so you must be." she said as she coaxed a small black cat out of the ventilation vent after her. She then replaced the vent cover and went over to him. "I'm Selena. But most people just call me Cat."

Robin shook her hand, mind reeling. Her name was Selena? Most people call her Cat? Was this a young Catwoman?

"You don't talk much do you? Good. I prefer action to talking anyway. This here is Iris, my cat." She pointed to the cat currently hissing at him. "Anyway see you later." She walked away.

Robin was trying to wrap his head around seeing a young Catwoman walking around when Red Hood caught up to him.

"Hey there. Why the long face?" Red Hood asked. "Would you like a tour of my abode, litle bird?"

"Um, sure." Robin said as he was led around. "To be honest when you said you had a hideout, I didn't expect there to be so many people here."

"It used to just be me and my gang, true. But I'm not heartless. We kept picking people up here and there that needed somewhere safe to stay. If they earn their keep and do something productive they can stay. We've got a whole big happy family down here now."

He led Robin to the an area that was filled with plants. A few workers worked here and there. There was that pigtailed teenage girl from before, Harley, talking with a red-headed teenaged girl. When she saw Red Hood enter she swooned over him.

"Hey Pam. This here's Robin. He's new. I was just showing him around. How are the plants doing?" Red Hood said.

"My plants are doing as well as can be expected. I really wish I didn't have to use UV lamps instead of sunlight. They really prefer actual sunlight, Hood." The red-headed girl said angrily.

"Hey you know why we can't grow outside. Too dangerous. If you want to stay you follow the rules, Isley." Red Hood said.

Robin stared at the girl in shock. Pamela Isley? Poison Ivy? Things were getting pretty weird. Pam noticed Robin staring at her in shock.

"What's the matter? Never seen a girl before? Why are you gaping at me?" Pam said.

"Sorry. You just look a lot like someone I know." Robin said apologetically.

"Well he is a bit cute, Ivy. No harm done." Harley chirped. Then Robin recognized Harley for who she was. Harley Quinn. He was just done with being surprised at this point.

Red Hood led Robin away and back into the common area.

"Don't let Pam get you down. It's not personal. She just hates everyone. The only person that she seems to get along with is Harley." Red Hood said.

He led Robin into another area that seemed to be the medical area. The same tall thin young man that Red Hood's lackeys gave the medicine to was there checking on a patient.

"Hey there Crane. This is the new kid. Just wanted to introduce him to you." Red Hood said cheerfully.

"Great. Another person I need to take care of. Well what are you waiting for boy? Sit down so I can see if you are carrying any diseases in here." Crane said.

Robin reluctantly sat down, not sure he wanted Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow, anywhere near him. Crane gave him a check up.

"Well you are healthier than most of the people here. Odd. Would you mind if I got a blood sample from you?"

"I really rather stay away from needles if that would be ok." Robin said standing up.

Crane scoffed. "Fine. You are free to go. Try to stay that healthy so I don't have to see you again."

Red Hood then showed him the various sleeping areas, the dining area, the area where his lackeys mostly spent their time, and his own private area.

"This is my room. After today, I'd rather you not come in here unless I let you, ok? That's one of the rules." Red Hood said.

There was a dingy looking bed to one side of the room and a full chemistry set sat out on a table on the other side. It looked as if Red Hood made his explosives here as well as other things.

Red Hood noticed him looking. "Yeah that's one of the reasons I don't want anyone in here. I like making my own explosives. Plus I like experimenting with things. I created some gas bombs that really mess with the bugs out there. And a nerve gas that messes with rival gangs. It's hilarious to watch them twitch. Anyway, Let's go back to the main room. I need to contact someone anyway. You know, to help you get back to your world?"

They left his room and Red Hood walked over to where a two way radio was being used. He sat down and contacted someone.

"This is Red Hood trying to contact Enigma. Enigma come in. You there Eddie?" said Red Hood into the radio.

They waited for a few moments before a voice is heard. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" the voice said. Then there was a scuffle heard and someone yelling "That's not a real riddle! Give me that, Tetch!"

"Sorry about that. That you Red Hood? Finally need my intelligence for something? What do you need?"

"Hey there Eddie. I have a boy here that I found wandering the streets. He said he came through a portal from another version of Gotham. I was wondering if you might have any ideas on how to send him back?"

"Does he have to be all in one piece when he gets back?... If so then it makes things a bit more difficult. Not impossible but difficult. I'll get back to you once I've solved this little riddle." said Eddie. The radio went silent.

"Well that's about all he's going to say until he figures it out. Don't worry. Eddie always did love a challenge. He'll figure it out." Red Hood said turning to Robin. "Until then I suggest you familiarize yourself with the people here. You might be here awhile, little bird. Oh and you can leave your costume with me. I'll look after it for you. Don't want to just carry it around forever do you?"

Robin handed his costume to Red Hood. Red Hood walked away, leaving Robin to fend for himself.

The next few days were hard for Robin, who was missing his version of Gotham terribly. The people around him were nice enough but seemed hardened by struggling to survive day to day. Harley and Cat were chipper enough to him. But Harley was a little annoying and Cat spent most of her time crawling through tunnels to find supplies. He tried to avoid Pamela and Crane as much as possible because quite simply, they scared him.

He was in the dining area eating when someone sat down next to him.

"Hey there. You seemed a bit lonely over here by yourself so I thought I'd come say hi. Red Hood said he found you wandering the streets. Dangerous thing to do. Anyway, my name is Harvey. Harvey Dent. Nice to meet you." He stuck out a hand to shake Robin's hand.

Robin tried not to choke on his food when he heard Harvey's name. He turned and shook Harvey's hand.

"Nice to meet you Harvey. What do you do around here?" Robin asked.

"Well I'm sort of a mediator for people here. Well people that aren't part of Red Hood's gang anyway. I make sure fights don't break out and help people negotiate things. Since I was in law school when the aliens invaded, I have some skill with that sort of stuff." Harvey said. "Red Hood is happy that he doesn't have to deal with any fights from all of us."

"What's up with that guy anyway? Red Hood I mean? Why's he so cheerful when everything is all destroyed?" Robin asked.

"Hey Robin! Hey Harv! Whatcha talking about?" Harley chirped as she sat down with them.

"Red Hood. Why's he so cheerful all of the time?" Robin said.

"Jack? Jack's not really all that cheerful. He just acts that way. I think something bad happened to him shortly after the alien stuff happened. He uses humor to not think about all the bad things I think." Harley said.

"Why do you call him Jack?" Robin said.

"Because that's his real name. I heard one of his minions call him that one time. Boy was Jack mad at him for using his name. But he lets me use his name! I think he likes me." Harley said beaming.

"I am not sure he actually likes you calling him that Harley. He doesn't seem to like thinking about his past." Harvey said.

"Shut up Harv! He likes me!" Harley said as she stormed away.

"Well that's Harley for you. I'm not really sure why she's so obsessed with Red Hood, but I do know it annoys him to no end." Harvey said snorting. "Anyway, if you have any questions feel free to come ask me. I like to be helpful to all our newcomers."

"I do have a question. Are there any other settlements like this in Gotham? Or are you all that is left?" Robin asked.

"Of course there are more settlements. Are you not from one of those? There is Oswald's little group of former rich people. There's Nigma's little hideout of really smart people. There's a Jim Gorden's bunch of former police officers. Those are the most notable ones. There are plenty of others scattered around." Harvey said. "Honestly, Oswald's bunch are rather pretentious and rude. They try to ignore the fact that the world has pretty much ended and that being rich doesn't matter anymore. Nigma's group isn't much better. They only accept really smart people. The only reason Crane isn't over there is because he got annoyed that someone as young as Nigma was running things. As for Gorden's bunch, well I like them. Don't let Red Hood know I said that though. He dislikes Gorden's bunch."

"Of course I don't like them. They still believe law exists in this world. This is a post-apocalyptic world we live in. Why would there still be unified laws? My laws are simple. Do what I say and stay alive." Red Hood appeared behind them. "Anyway, hiya Harv. Keeping our little bird company?"

"Oh hello Red Hood. I was just informing Robin here about the different settlements in Gotham. How is it that he doesn't know about them? Is he from somewhere other than Gotham?" Harvey said.

"Yep. In way. Robin here is apparently from a whole other dimension!" A whole other Gotham!" Red Hood said dramatically. Harvey looked at him confused. "Mind if I borrow you for a bit little bird? There's someone here that you'll definitely want to meet."

"Uh, ok. Who is it?" Robin asked as he got to his feet and let Red Hood lead him away.

"You'll find out." Red Hood said as they got to the main room.

There was a red headed teenaged boy in a green jacket having a chat with Crane in the middle of the room.

"How do you stand it here Jonathan? There's no one with your level of intellect here. I don't see why you prefer it here." the red headed boy said.

"Oh I wouldn't say stuff like that around here. You wouldn't want Pamela hearing that you think she is intellectually inferior." Red Hood said to the red headed teen. "Hey there Eddie! This here's the boy I mentioned over the radio. His name's Robin."

"Hmm. Well he looks at least semi intelligent." Eddie said snobbily. "Hello I am Edward Nigma. The reason I'm in this...wonderful place, is that I found out a way to get you back to your own world."

"That's great! When do we leave?" Robin said excited.

"Hold on there. I can't send you back just like that. It will take some work. Some very dangerous work at that. You have to get your hands on an alien device. How do I say this in a way you could understand?...To put it simply, it opens a hole in the fabric of the universe. It makes a portal." Eddie said condescendingly. "You all have to go into one of those alien facilities and grab it. I will be able to get it working. You just need to get it for me. Here are some notes about what to look for." He handed Red Hood some notes.

"Well this'll be fun. I guess I get to use some of my more experimental stuff. I made a gas that might affect the aliens. Or it might just make them angry. I haven't really tested it." Red Hood said. "I'll get my boys ready to go."

"Can I come with you? I'd like to help." Robin said as he walked away.

"Well, can you help, little bird? I don't want to have to look after you if you go out there with us." Red Hood said.

"I was an acrobat in a circus, and then I fought criminals with Batman. I can do this." Robin said determined.

"Ok then. If you die than don't blame me." Red Hood said.

Red Hood got his gang together and loaded up with weapons and explosives. He put his red mask on and they headed out to the vehicles. Robin got in Red Hood's car and sat in the passenger seat. Red Hood revved the engine and peeled off into the city.


	2. Chapter 2

Robin stood beside Red Hood as they stared at the alien building from a safe distance away. It was just sitting there in the water looking very intimidating. It was entirely black and seemed almost organic in its construction. There were alien sentries outside it on the docks that looked rather strange. Strange but dangerous.

"Well this doesn't look difficult at all." Red Hood said sarcastically. "The entrance is over there. We'll need to grapple over to it if we don't want to swim there. And frankly, some of my men can't swim. First we've got to take out those guards. Once we're inside, I have a radio that we'll use to contact Eddie. He'll tell us where we need to go. Everyone ready?"

"Ready and waiting boss." Red Hood's second in command, Frost, said. Several of the other men echo him with "Ready!"

"Ready little bird? you can back out now if you want. We won't hold it against you." Red Hood said.

"I'm ready. I'm not just some helpless kid. I've done stuff like this before." Robin said. He had brought his utility belt with him. They had offered him a gun but he refused.

"I doubt you've really faced something quite this dangerous before but I like your enthusasim. Alright everyone move out." Red Hood said, taking out a gas canister. "Everyone put their masks on. I'm not sure this wont effect you all or not."

They quickly put on their gas masks. Frost gave Robin a mask to put on.

They made their way silently to the docks and hide behind some moldering shipping containers. Red Hood rolls the canister of gas towards the alien sentries. The gas goes off and the aliens make what seems to be the alien equivalent of a coughing sound. Then they fall over twitching on the ground.

"Well, I'm glad that worked. Things would've gotten ugly if it hadn't." Red Hood said as he got up from their hiding place and went over to kick an alien. "Alright, time to get this show on the road."

They pull out their grappling hooks and throw them over to an outcrop on the alien building. Robin pulled out his grapple gun and shoots it at the building. Then they all swing towards the building and land on the edge of an outcrop of the building near the door. Red Hood gets out a small explosive and attached it to the door.

"Everybody out of the way if you want all your limbs to stay attached!" Red Hood yelled as everyone moved as far away from the explosive as they could.

The bomb explodes and there is a hole where the door was.

"Alrighty. Let's get this party started!" said Red Hood as they moved towards the entrance.

When they all had entered the alien structure, Robin looked around. The hallways looked just as intimidating as the outside. They also looked almost organic in nature. Robin was heavily reminded of H.R. Giger when he looked at the insides of the alien building. That didn't reassure him.

Red Hood talked into a radio. "Ok Eddie. We're in. Now where do we go?"

Nygma gave them directions. The building seemed like a maze and it was good they had directions. Red Hood took a wrong turn a couple of times though and they had to double back. Nygma got very disgruntled with him after awhile. They ran into some aliens ever so often as the aliens knew they were there now. Red Hood made short work with them with his 'alien gas' as he put it. The aliens dropped like flies. Red Hood was very pleased.

"Alright now you make a right turn and you should be at the control room. Take care of any aliens you find and then talk to me again for more instructions." Nygma said condescendingly over the radio.

They entered a very large room. It had biomechanical computer consoles all over and a large crystal-like device in the center of the room. There were four very large sentries in the room. The aliens were apparently now very aware of their presence. The aliens are wearing some strong looking armor and face masks.

"Shoot them in the face masks!" yelled Red Hood.

Red Hood's lackeys fired on the alien sentries at their face masks. They keep having to dodge laser beams that the aliens are shooting. The facemasks seem to be shielded and most of the gunfire just ricochets off.  
Robin stayed out of the way of the shooting and jumped on one of the sentries and removed its face mask. Then he darted out of the way as Red Hood threw a gas bomb at the alien. Then he does the same to the other three aliens. Soon all four aliens are choking on deadly gas.

"Those were some fancy moves little bird." Red Hood said impressed.

"I did tell you I'm not just a helpless kid." Robin said.

"That you did." Red Hood said before he took out his radio. "Eddie? Time for you to tell us how to do all this."

They hear a footsteps behind them. "The radio wont be necessary. I wanted to see the inside of one of these things. I just didn't want to dirty my clothes with alien blood. Now lets see about getting you back shall we?" Nygma said and he walked up to one of the many control computers.

Red Hood shook his head as he watched the red headed genius at work.

"Hmmm. That's interesting. It's set up as if it's already broadcasting a signal to another world. This may be the world you came from...Robin, is it? It would seem as if they plan on taking your world as well." Nygma said as he figured out the alien console.

"Well it's good we stopped them isn't it. We saved my world!" Robin said.

Nygma laughed. "This isn't the only alien craft. There are many more. Luckily it seems as if the main ship is connected to all the other ships. But it's already on its way to your world."

"Oh no! We've got to do something! We've got to figure out a way to stop them!" Robin said.

"Well, I'm up for it. To be perfectly honest I had an motive for helping you. This world is dying. I don't want to be here when things fall apart completely. If I can get to your world along with other people, then I'll help you stop these aliens." Red Hood said.

Nygma sighed. "I guess it is in my best interests to help you as well. Hold on while I get access to the transport systems. I'll take the whole ship to your world. Hopefully there is nothing in the way when we land."

"Thanks. I'm sure people will be ok with taking in some refugees from this world. We just need to hurry!" Robin said.

Nygma fiddled with the consoles and the alien ship started to make a humming sound.

"Hold on everyone. I'm not sure how jarring this will be." Nygma said.

The lights got brighter in the room. The humming increased. There was a roaring sound. Then suddenly it all stopped.

"We're here." Nygma said.

"That's all? Are you sure we made it?" Red Hood said. "I was expecting something a bit more dramatic."

"This isn't a movie, Red. As I said, the controls indicate that we are here. I'd be careful going out the door to the outside as people are likely going to see us and might attack." Nygma said pressing a few more buttons. "I'll stay here and see what I can do about stripping down the systems and making them more useful to us for a return trip. Good luck."

The Red Hood gang and Robin make their way to the ship's exit door. Sure enough, someone takes potshots at them when they come out and they have to duck.

"Hey! You aren't aliens! How'd you get in there?" The scared police officer cried out.

Robin walked up to the police officers aiming their guns at the alien ship. "It's ok. I'm Robin. These are my friends. They're helping me stop the aliens."

"Batman has been looking for you. We all thought you were dead. It's been a week since you disappeared. So you know about the aliens? You can stop them?" a police officer said to Robin. The police relaxed a bit.

Batman swooped in. Red Hood and his gang were very startled and nearly shot him.

"Robin. Where have you been?" Batman very concerned. "Your tracker went offline and I feared the worst. When it came back online I came as soon as I could."

"Batman! Boy am I glad to see you! You wouldn't believe the week I've had. Well maybe you would given that the world is now being attacked by aliens. Anyway I was in another world! These are the people that helped me. As hard as it is to believe, They're the Red Hood gang. But they've been helping people in their world by sheltering them in their hideout from the aliens. They're not bad people there." Robin said.

Red Hood came up to Batman and held his hand out for him to shake it. "Red Hood's the name. Pleased to meetcha. I've heard so much about you Batman. All good things of course."

Batman reluctantly shook Red Hood's hand. "Thank you for keeping Robin safe. We had a Red Hood in this world and he didn't help people all that much. He was a criminal. I'd feel apprehensive about you being here but right now we need all the help we can get. If you know these aliens better than we do you will be a big help."

"I sure do. And your welcome by the way. But I have a request first before I help." Red Hood said.

"And that request is?" Batman asked.

"That me and my gang, as well as the people staying at my hideout be allowed to stay in this world after we save it. Our world is dying. There is not much time left for us."

"I can see about getting that to happen...If you will help." Batman said.

"Alrighty. Let's get this show on the road." Red Hood said.

The radio went off in Red Hood's pocket. "Hey Red. I figured out a way to get to the main ship. It's going to be tricky once you are on the ship though. We may need some help with this." Nygma said.

"We have help now Eddie! We're coming back to you with a new friend. Don't insult him too much ok?"

"Just get in here already." Nygma said.

They lead Batman through the alien ship and into the control room where Nygma is typing away at a console.

"Took you long enough. I managed to find the signal of the main alien ship. I can make a portal for you to it. I assume you have an explosive you can place into the alien reactor to make the whole thing explode. Explosives are your thing afterall, Red."

"Sure. I've got one big enough for that. Plus its timed so we can make our way back here before it goes off. Hey Eddie. I want to introduce you to our new friend, Batman."

Nygma turned around and saw Batman. "A man dressed as a bat. Joy. I hope you are more competent than you look. The name's Edward Nygma. Pleasure to meet you I'm sure." Nygma said sarcastically.

Batman raised an eyebrow at his name but didn't say anything about it.

Nygma turned back around. "Anyway, I'm going to put in the signal and create the portal." He typed away at the console.

There was a humming sound and a flash of light. A portal formed in the middle of the room.

"There you go. Have at them. I'll be waiting for you on this end." Nygma said.

"Alright boys get ready!" Red Hood said enthusiastically.

"Ready boss!" said the Red Hood gang.

They charged into the portal. Batman looked at the portal dubiously before entering with Robin close behind him.

The other side of the portal came out into a narrow corridor.

"Good thing this didn't take us directly to the bridge of the ship. That would've ruined the element of surprise. Anyway, got any weapons on that utility belt of yours Batman? Need to borrow a gun?" Red Hood said.

"I don't use guns. I will be fine." Batman said.

"Well, your loss." Red Hood gets out his radio. "Hey Eddie. Know where we need to go next? Eddie come in. Damn it. We're out of range."

"Indeed, which is why I decided to come along. Do try not to get me killed won't you." Nygma said from behind them, startling all of them.

"Sneaking up on someone is a good way to get shot Eddie." Red Hood said.

"I'll keep that in mind. Shall we go?" said Nygma impatiently. "We follow this corridor this way until it branches out. Then we go right."

"Alrighty lets go." Red Hood said following Nygma's lead. Batman and Robin follow behind them.

Their fight to the bridge of the ship was tough. A lot of big aliens came after them. Batman was a big help even without a gun, knowing interesting moves that had them on the ropes. Red Hood was impressed.

They finally made it to the bridge which Red Hood dosed with some of his alien gas bombs to clear it out. "That should take care of them temporarily. You better work quickly Eddie."

"I'm on it. This may take two people. Batman, you have any smarts behind that cowl of yours? I could use the help with the consoles." Eddie said.

"You need help? You? And you're admitting it?" Red Hood laughed. Something about that laugh struck a nerve with Batman but he couldn't figure out why.

"Shut up. There are multiple consoles. Consoles that need to be worked on at the same time. I don't have more than two hands." Eddie said annoyed.

The bridge had a big energy beam in the middle of the room with a small catwalk leading to it. There was a shield up between them and the energy beam. Nygma theorized that they would have to place a bomb in the energy beam to blow the place up. Both he, Batman, and Robin worked on the consoles to get the shield down. Suddenly more aliens showed up. Red Hood and his gang held them off.

"Alright this should do it I think. Press that button there, kid. Batman hold down that switch." Nygma said and sure enough, the shield went down. "There we go! Red! We only have a little bit of time before the shield goes back up. You had better hurry with that bomb of yours."

"On it!" Red Hood shot another alien before making his way to the catwalk. "Shit. That is a long way down. I have this thing about heights." He complained as he made his way down the catwalk.

The closer he got to the energy beam, the more that Red Hood started to get a weird feeling. He got flashes of things in his vision. "What the hell?! I feel like I'm tripping!"

"Yeah I forgot to mention that that might happen the closer you got to the energy beam. It bends time and space. So I assumed it would have some side effects. Don't worry they should be temporary. I think." Nygma said.

"Remind me to kill you when we get out of this Eddie." Red Hood said getting near the beam. He struggled to pull out a big bomb from his jacket. He kept feeling alternate feelings of falling and drowning.

"Damn my face burns for some reason! What the hell!"

"Just place the bomb and get out!" Nygma yelled. "You don't have much time left!"

Red Hood placed the bomb on the catwalk near the center of the energy beam and started running back down the catwalk clutching his face. He managed to get out right before the shield went back up. He lay on the floor for a second before tearing his mask off. "My face burns! Is there something wrong with my face?!"

"Your face is fine boss! There's nothing wrong with it!" Frost yelled as he pulled Red Hood to his feet.

"Argh! It hurts!" Red Hood yelled.

"How long do we have before the bomb goes off?! Red listen to me and answer!" Nygma yelled at him.

"Ten minutes!"

"Time to go! We need to leave. There is a room on the other side of the ship where we can get back to the other ship. Quick now!" Nygma yelled, before making his way out of the room. Batman and Robin followed quickly behind them as well as the Red Hood gang. Red Hood was dragged along by Frost.

They made their way quickly to the other end of the ship and Nygma rushed to a console to open the portal. With only minutes to spare he managed to open a portal and they rushed through, ending up on the bridge of the other ship. Nygma went to one of the consoles and pulled up a feed from one of the smaller ships near the mother ship. Soon they are treated to a satisfying sight. The mother ship blew up! The Red Hood gang cheered. Nygma smiled smugly.

"That should deal with the rest of the ships too, except for this one. I seperated it from the main control. That way we can get back to our world.

"Hey Nygma! Mind if you take a look at Red Hood? He's not doing well." Frost said as he tried to get Red Hood off the floor. He was currently hunched over on the floor rocking back and forth, clutching his face.

"He should be fine in a bit. The energy beam probably messed with his sense of the timeline a bit. It'll be temporary." Nygma looked a bit concerned though. "We should have a doctor take a look at him though. Just in case."

The Red Hood gang and Batman and Robin made their way out of the ship again. Nygma stayed behind to keep an eye on the ship. When they exited, they were met by cheers. It seems everyone saw the mother ship blow up from afar. And people connected the dots when alien ships began going down. There was a crowd of bystanders and cops cheering at them. It was a surreal feeling for the Red Hood gang. They didn't view themselves as heroes. But now people were calling them heroes. Some paramedics that happened to be around rushed over to Red Hood who was being held up by Frost and another gang member.

As it turned out, the mayor was willing to have the refugees from the other world reside in his city. He wasn't happy about it but the president of the United States overruled him. Some of them had saved the world afterall. Nygma went back with the ship to gather as many people he could get and brought them back. The mayor had some of the city employees assigned to register all the new citizens. He was even less happy when he heard some of their names. Selena Kyle? Jonathan Crane? Pamela Isley? Lucky for him, most of the villain doubles decided not to stay in Gotham. Given how they were treated after people learned their names, it wasn't surprising that they left Gotham far behind them as quickly as they could.

The damage to the world wasn't as bad as it could've been. Robin and his otherworldly allies had gotten there just in time. Gotham was hit bad but not horribly. Buildings needed to be rebuilt, people had lost their lives. But life went on overall and they started to rebuild.

One group of people in particular happened to lose quite a bit from the alien attack. Harley Quinn and the Joker's gang found themselves mourning Joker's death. He had died as they were fighting the aliens. Harley was inconsolable. But perked up a bit after she met her younger other world self. She started treating her like a protégé.

Jonathan Crane also died fighting the aliens. Strangely though, not long after, the other world's Jonathan Crane seemed to lose it and starting calling himself Scarecrow, essentially replacing the original.

After a doctor had a look at Jack Napier, aka Red Hood, he was found to be fine medically. He didn't feel fine though. Every time he looked in the mirror he expected to see someone different staring back at him. The experience on the mother ship deeply effected him. And not just that. He felt that there was something else effecting his mental stability. He didn't know what though. He felt like he was going to crack and that scared him.

The Red Hood gang didn't know what to do with themselves. They had gotten used to all the violence, the danger, and the surviving day to day. Without all that they were nothing. Red Hood noticed the falling morale and suggested they establish themselves as a gang in this new Gotham. They agreed with this plan and soon they stopped being heroes to the people, which they were never comfortable with anyway. They started commiting crimes. Batman went toe to toe with them several times. Life was good again for Jack, and for awhile he could ignore his slipping mental stability. That didn't last though.

One day as Jack was wandering the city incognito, he nearly got tackled by someone.

"Jack! It's you!"

"Harley. Wonderful." Jack said sarcastically. He pried the young Harley off of him.

"It's Quinn now. So I don't get confused with the older Harley. Guess what! I met my older self! She's so cool!" Quinn chatted away with him as he tried walking away from her rolling his eyes. "Pam doesn't like the sound of her though. Pam's in Africa right now trying to save some rare plant species. We still keep in touch though. She thinks older Harley is a bad influence."

"Quinn. I don't really have time for this, ok?" Jack tried to get away from her. It didn't work.

"Wait! Can I have your phone number? I want to keep in touch! Please." Quinn said running in front of him.

"No Quinn you can't have my phone number."

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because you annoy me. A lot. Please leave me alone." Jack said.

"Oh Jack you don't mean that." She said and she tried to hug him again. He cracked a little and slapped her away from him. She looked at him shocked.

"Go away Harley." He said before walking away from her.

The Harley Quinn of this world wasn't an idiot but was a bit singleminded. When young Quinn met Jack Napier on the street, she told Harley all about it afterwards. Ranting and crying about it. Harley knew that that was Joker's former name. She also noticed how the new Jonathan Crane was now indisnguishable from the old Jonathan Crane, even remembering some of the things that the old Crane knew that couldn't have been possible for him to know. It was almost as if he had replaced the old Scarecrow in the world. He wasn't the only one that this had happened to either. She had heard stories of it happening to other people, who's older selves had died. She learned all of this...and hoped that maybe her puddin might not be completely lost to her afterall. So she planned. She had to meet this Jack Napier. This Red Hood.

Jack had a sense of forboding that he couldn't explain.

Red Hood and his gang continued to pull off several heists. Most of them went pretty successfully. They did run into Batman occasionally though so not everything went off without a hitch. But Red Hood was in his element. Causing chaos was his thing. He enjoyed it. It took his mind off...well his mind for one. He still felt emotionally and mentally unstable. He would lash out at random times at his gang members. Loyal to a fault though, they stuck by him despite it all. Frost ran into his older counterpart from this world one time and found out that he was a member of Joker's gang before he had died. He didn't see much point in staying with the gang after that. No point if there was no Joker. Young Frost tried to convince older Frost to join the Red Hood gang but he declined. He was still mourning the death of his former boss. He did mention that Harley was trying to get him back, saying that Joker 'wasn't going to be dead for long'. Knowing that she was as crazy or more so than Joker himself, Older Frost didn't pay much mind to what she had said.

Jack left the gang hideout to wander the city incognito again. He liked to do that from time to time. Not wanting to be Red Hood all the fricking time. After a bit he felt like someone was following him. It put him on high alert. He cut through a few alleys to shake whoever it was off. He walked into a dark alley to confront whoever was following him and several rather colorful looking guys surrounded him.

"He don't look much like the boss. You sure that's him?" said one of them.

Jack smirked. "Oh boy, you picked the wrong guy to mess with." He had several knives and explosives on him as well as his favorite handgun. He brought out two throwing knives. "You leave now and I might let you live."

The men cracked their knuckles ready for a fight.

"Boys boys. No need for a fight. I just wanted to talk to him is all." said a familiar voice.

A girl with garish red and black clothing and makeup arrived. She was holding a very large hammer. "Hiya!" she said to Jack cheerfully.

"You just want to talk? Seems like a lot of backup for just a talk." Jack said lowering the hand with the throwing knives. "Have we met before?"

"You're probably thinking of younger me! You've met her! Good kid. A little nieve but so was I at that age."

"Harley I'm guessing?" Jack rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

She walked towards him. He raised the throwing knives.

"Woah easy now." She said putting down her hammer and lifting her hands. "I just want to talk."

"Then talk."

Batman had caught sight of them as he was swinging from roof to roof. He noticed what seemed to be Harley Quinn and her gang harassing what seemed to be a random guy. Then he noticed the man was armed. Throwing knives. Batman swept closer for a better look. The man looked familiar but he couldn't quite place him.

"I heard all about you from Quinn. I think she likes you. Not surprised." Harley winked at him. "Anyway I was thinking you and I should join forces. How about it, Red Hood?"

Batman's eyes widened at the name. That's where he recognized the man.

"And why would I join forces with you? I don't even know you." Jack said. "Plus surrounding me in a dark alley isn't really the way to convince me. As of now I'm not really interested."

"Not even a little interested?"

"Not a bit." Jack said.

"Bummer. I was hoping I could convince you that we could be friends. He's not buying it boys. Time for the direct approach." Harley said.

The men with her started closing in on Jack menacingly.

He smirked wider as he got ready for a fight. Suddenly Batman swept in.

"Batman!" yelled several of Harley's goons. They charged him.

"Nice of you to drop in!" Jack said grinning. He threw some of his throwing knives at the men, dropping a few of them. Batman and Jack fought the men, back to back.

Jack was so caught up with fighting that he didn't notice Harley creep up behind him. She hit him lightly on the head with her hammer, knocking him out. While Batman was busy fighting off Harley's goons, two of her goons dragged an unconscience Jack into a waiting car. Harley getting in next to him. She stuck her head out of the window. "Bye Batsy!"

They sped away and in the time it took Batman to fight off Harley's goons, they were able to get away. After the goons were knocked out, Batman called the batmobile to him and sped away, trying to track them down.

Some time later, Jack slowly woke up. He found that he was tied up in an unfamiliar location. It looked like an abandoned toy factory. Like a hideout in an abandoned toy factory. He was lying on a garish looking bed. His head was hurting quite a bit. This wasn't doing anything good for his mental stability.

"Hiya!" Harley said cheerfully walking up to the bed. "Sorry about knocking you out. It was the only way I could get you to come with me. I needed to get you alone. To explain to you who you are. Who you are to me. You're important to me."

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you!" he snarled, thrashing in his binds.

"But you do! The previous you did anyway! And he's dead now! So all I got left is you!" Harley said.

"Are you seriously trying to replace your old boyfriend with me? Seriously? You're one crazy bitch, you know that?" Jack said.

"If you knew who you really were you'd understand why I care about you!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "And who am I really?"

"You're the Joker! You could be anyway! You are who he was before he became the Joker! You even have his name! Jack Napier!"

Jack stared at her with raised eyebrows. "You serious? This world's Jack became that psycho the Joker? Well...that would explain a few things."

"And what happened to Crane could happen to you! He replaced the old Crane. Even got some of his memories! You could become the new Joker!" Harley said.

That thought made Jack's blood run cold. He had already been battling his failing mental stability. To find out he could just go completely nutso? That scared him. "And what if I don't want to become the Joker? What then?"

Harley thought about that for a few minutes. "Then I'll make you become him! I've got an idea!" she ran off.

Jack struggled in his binds. If only he had one of his knives. But apparently they stripped him of all of his weapons while he was unconscious. He hoped she hadn't chucked out his favorite gun. He managed to get himself mostly free when Harley came back with several of her goons.

"Oops. I forgot how good you were at escaping. Time to go to sleep again!" She went up and placed a cloth to his face. Cloriform! He cursed as he passed out.

After hours of searching, Batman was ready to give up. He couldn't find Harley. He didn't know what Harley wanted with Red Hood, but knew it wasn't good. He was about to give up for the night when he heard there was a breakin at the chemical plant. He sped off in the batmobile to the chemical plant.

"Wakey Wakey!" Harley said as Jack started to come to. "I didn't want to you to be asleep for the main event!"

He found himself being held by a big goon on the edge of a platform. The platform was jutting over several vats of what looked like very dangerous looking chemicals. He started panicking.

"What are you going to do?! Please don't do what I think you are going to do!" Jack yelled. "You crazy bitch!"

The large muscular goon held him dangerously close to the edge. He tried very hard not to look down. "Just say the word Harley." the goon said. Jack tried hard not to hyperventilate.

"Let him go." Batman suddenly appeared.

"Help!" Jack screamed as he noticed Batman.

"No! I want my puddin back! And he's the closest I'm going to get! You saw what happened to Crane!" Harley yelled.

"Don't come any closer, Batman. Or I let go." The goon holding Jack said.

Jack loosened his binds while the goon was busy staring at Batman.

"He's not Joker, Harley." Batman said.

"But he is! He's going to be! All he needs is a little push!" Harley yelled.

Jack escaped his binds and grabbed the goon putting him off balance. They both fell to the floor. In the confusion Batman is able to tackle Harley. Jack got to his feet and then slipped on the edge of the platform. Suddenly he was clutching the edge of the platform for dear life, dangling over a vat of chemicals. "Batman! Help!"

Batman was just finishing knocking Harley out when he heard the yell. He rushed over and grabbed Jack's hands, trying to lift him up. Jack held onto him as tightly as he could. But while Batman was busy, Harley had woken up and slapped Batman. He accidentally let go.

It felt like Jack was falling in slow motion. He remembered screaming. Then he hit the chemicals and sank into the liquid.

It felt like his whole body was on fire. His face was burning! His whole body was burning! It hurt as bad as it did back in the mother ship near the energy beam. Worse actually. And he couldn't breathe. He couldn't think just feel. Suddenly the liquid around him rushed by him and he was rushing away somewhere. Into a big body of water. He floated for a few seconds then he remembered he needed to breathe and he swam towards what he hoped was the surface. He burst through the surface of the water and choking on water. He struggled his way to the shore and then just lay there for a bit coughing up water and chemicals.

His skin still hurt. A lot. He got to his knees and then noticed his reflection in the water. Oh... That wasnt his face... That couldn't be his face! He put his face in his hands in despair. He started to crack. He stopped fighting it. Stopped fighting the pull to insanity. What was the point now anyway? His brain might as well match his face. That got him laughing. When he started laughing, he couldn't stop. He laughed so hard he almost cried.

"Boss?" said a voice behind him. Two of Harley's goons were walking up to him. No...His goons. What was Harley's was his afterall. He looked up at them and smiled a wide maniacial smile.

A few weeks later the Red Hood gang merged with the Joker gang. The old Frost let the young Frost be Joker's right hand man without complaint. He didn't know this Joker as well anyway. Joker kicked Harley out of their hideout for awhile. He was still pissed at what she did to him. Maybe he'd let her crawl back after awhile. Quinn, the younger Harley, left town. She felt betrayed by the older Harley when she found out what she did to her Jack. After awhile it was like Joker had never died. And Jack barely remembered being Jack. All was right with the world.


End file.
